I debated whether or not to write this review since the spa has apologized for the experience but the reality is that NYC is loaded with wonderful spas and if you're going to spend your money at one of them, you should know that you have MANY better options.
First of all, before the part that really destroyed my time at this spa, the whole massage experience was bizarre. The therapist never introduced herself and to describe her as cold and robotic would be generous. She literally ran down the hallway in front of me to lead me to the room. The massage table had a sheet on it that doesn't actually fully cover the black vinyl covering. How awful to have that sheet move and your arms and legs on that sticky plastic vinyl. The therapist wears gloves which is just such an odd feeling - you hear them, you feel them. I have had MANY massages and have never been anywhere in the world where the therapists wear gloves for a massage. She was so rough when it came to repositioning my arms and legs to however she wanted them at that point in the treatment. And when it came to turn over, she put a towel over effectively the entirety of my face. Over my nose, over my mouth. If you want to cover my eyes from the light use cucumber slices or something. Don't suffocate me. Just utterly bizarre.
I had never been to this spa before and only went, truthfully, because my husband purchased a gift card for me. I gave the gift card information - my name, complete number on the back, etc. - over the phone when I made the appointment. They certainly had ample time to crosscheck their records for the card details as the appointment was a made a week in advance. Yet when I went to checkout they had no record of the gift card. Keep in mind this was THEIR pink gift card that was given to me in a plastic bag with their little soaps, etc.
And I stood there while they looked it up, made phone calls, etc. Then they asked me who gave me this gift, has he/she been there before, how much was the card, etc. Let's go through this - IT WAS A GIFT. I don't make it a habit of asking people who give me gifts when they purchased it, with what mode of payment, how much was the value, etc. And if they are totally incapable of keeping track of this information then they should change their gift card format so that the actual card reflects exactly what was purchased. I actually had to call my husband who was at the Rangers game with friends to ask him what he spent and where he bought it (56th street location). Fortunately it was my husband so I could make that call. Could you imagine if it was someone with whom I wasn't as close who wanted to give me a lovely gift? Totally humiliating and so tacky.
The best part is that they actually tried to keep the card. They had no idea what was actually on it but just decided to arbitrarily say it was for "one service." What does that even mean? They have MANY services each costing a different amount. My service was $125 or something and they just tried to keep the card because of their incompetence. They did ultimately give me the difference back in cash for which I am very grateful because I would never have wanted to go back there and even use the money that was left on the card. That's how bad the experience was.
Again, they apologized for the experience at the time and even called afterwards again to apologize. I appreciate that effort. But that doesn't mean this is a place where you should be spending your money. I have never been to a spa before with an overly lit hallway displaying cheap and cheesy instagram and tiktok props for people to post pictures that I suppose boost their social media profile. This is not a luxury experience. There's no changing room. There's nowhere to hang your clothing in the treatment room. No hanger for a soaking wet jacket after coming in from the rain. I was just told to just drop my stuff on a bench.
Maybe I was just unlucky as I see lots of excellent reviews. Maybe this spa is just geared towards tourists in midtown who don't know about all of the better options. Maybe the owner just wants to have articles written about him on the internet about his $3mm/year revenue business which I read after the fact. I am glad they survived COVID. I want to support all small, local NYC business as a lifelong resident. Trust me when I say that at least based on my experience, I could list 20 places for you in under 2 minutes that would be better. This is the first time in my life that I have ever left a massage far LESS RELAXED than when I arrived. It was awful and I would never ever return. read more